Artist
Interview:
[Printed
in Record Collector’s Monthly,
April, 1985 under their title
By
Joseph Tortelli
Though
they toured nationally with the Beach Boys, appeared on Dick Clark’s
fast-paced television series “Where the Action Is,” and even charted a pair
of top-10 hits in Boston during 1966, the name Teddy and the Pandas won’t turn
heads outside of New England. But mention the group’s name to anyone who lived
along the North Shore in Massachusetts during the mid-‘60s and watch the chins
nod. The Pandas, along with Barry and the Remains, the Barbarians, the Lost, and
the Rockin’ Ramrods, ruled the New England coast in those days, even though
national recognition eluded them all.
The
Pandas (they originally tagged themselves the Sensations) were formed in
Beverly, MA during 1963. The earliest lineup included Al Lawrence (vocals),
Billy (“Sonny”) Corelle (Bassist), Ralph Cooper (drummer), Joe Daly
(guitar), and Dick Winters (saxophone).
Before
long, some shuffling took place, as organist Dick Guerrette from Danvers, MA,
was added, Dick Winters left, and another guitarist – William Edward (“Teddy”)
Dewart was recruited. Toward the end of 1963, another act, also calling
themselves the Sensations, released a few records. Because the North Shore group
had begun writing some original material, they wanted to avoid confusion by the
public, so they changed their name.
It
was drummer Ralph Cooper who suggested the moniker Teddy and the Pandas. The “Teddy”
in question, however, alluded to a teddy bear and not to newcomer Dewart. “I
think that 90 percent of our audience believed “Teddy” referred to our
singer, Al Lawrence,” recalls bassist Billy Corelle.
In
1964, more shuffling took place as Ralph Cooper left to enter college, and Jerry
Labrecque, a drummer from Salem, MA, replaced him. After a brief stint with two
guitarists, the Pandas settled into a quintet. Now the lineup was Al Lawrence
(vocals), Dick Guerrette (Keyboards), Billy Corelle (Bass), Jerry Labrecque
(drums), and Teddy Dewart (guitar). Packing a rocking repertoire of contemporary
hits, they soon gained recognition in North Shore communities like Danvers,
Peabody, Salem, Gloucester, and Manchester…and their reputation began to
spread throughout New England.
They
played a lot of school dances and socials and, with Dewart’s family
connections, even performed at upper crust socials like “coming-out” parties
and debutante balls. Recalling one particular gig, Billy Corelle says, “They
flew us out To Chicago…put us up for a week and paid us big money, all we had
to do was two sets. They also hired a society band from Boston.
The
band was lodged in luxury. “As a matter of fact, we were in the same hotel as
James Brown. He had the floor above us.”
After
a few years of steady gigs, the Pandas took themselves into the Ace Recording
studio in Boston and made a record on their own. Dewart had composed a song, “Once
Upon a Time,” and Producer Bruce Patch agreed to release it as a single backed
by "Bye Bye (Out the Window)” on the (independent) Coristine label. The tune hit the Top 10 on Boston’s pop radio
stations WMEX and WBZ in April, 1966.
According
to Corelle, Dewart collaborated with the band’s road manager, Johnny McEwan,
in the writing of “Once Upon a Time.” “Johnny is a top photographer in New
York right now,” Corelle notes. “He’s originally from Scotland.”
It
turned out to have been a good move. The song’s raw, guitar driven sound
caught the attention of major record labels. Musicor
signed the Pandas and re-released “Once
Upon a Time” nationally. “That was quite a thrill,” says Corelle. “We
went down to New York… it was super. Unbelievable!” Unbelievable, indeed,
for five kids who were more comfortable playing a local high school or college
mixer.
With
Patch at the controls, the Pandas next recorded two singles for Musicor.
As part of the deal, the record company provided studio support from session
guitarist Hugh McCracken and vocalist Toni Wine. Wine, who co-wrote the
Mindbenders’ “Groovy Kind of Love,” also sang the backing on “We Can’t
Go On This Way,” the Pandas first original recording for Musicor.
It hit Boston’s Top 10 in August, 1966, right alongside the Beatles
chart-topper, “Yellow Submarine”/Eleanor Rigby.” (Another Boston group,
called the Ramrods, were nudging the Top 20 with their “Bright Lit Blue Skies.”)
The
record’s “B” side, another Teddy Dewart ballad entitled “Smokey Fire,”
became one of the Panda’s most requested live numbers.
The
Pandas “We Can’t Go On This Way” clicked in Boston, but flopped
nationally. Their follow-up, “Searchin’ for the Good Times”/”Sunnyside
Up,” also misfired commercially…”Searchin’” because it was densely
produced, and included horns and a vaguely psychedelic fuzz guitar snippet. Al
Lawrence laid down the vocal track, while the Tokens (of “The Lion Sleeps
Tonight” fame) sang backup.
“Sunnyside
Up,” on the other hand, more accurately reflected the Pandas’ live sound. In
it, a cleanly produced Dewart-Corelle composition followed the three-chord
uptempo rock pattern.
The
Musicor single credits Bob Stone,
composer of both “We Can’t Go On This Way” and “Searchin’ for the Good
Times,” as Bruce Patch’s co-producer.” He was an independent writer,”
recalls Corelle, “and we liked his material. He came into the studio with us,
but he didn’t really produce. I think he wanted to be there, because we were
the first to record his songs.”
Though
Teddy and the Pandas failed to crack the national charts, they toured with some
of the most popular acts in the world. For instance, They played the Boston
Garden with the Dave Clark Five, and appeared with the likes of the Beach Boys,
the Lovin’ Spoonful, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.
“The
great thing about the Paul Revere gig was that this William Morris agent said,
(about us) to Mark Lindsay,” says Lawrence… “If you want to see an act,
you ought to see these guys…they’re dynamite!
At the time, we were not working through the Morris agency.”
According
to Corelle…”This same agent was with the Beach Boys when we toured with
them. He had seen us before, and wanted to take us to the West Coast with him.
But we were already committed to dates.”
The
Pandas traveled with Musicor label-mate Gene Pitney during a six-week tour. On
the bill were B.J. Thomas, Bobby Goldsboro, Norma Tanega, Len Barry, the McCoys,
the Outsiders, and Chad and Jeremy. Musicor recorded several of the
performances, and Teddy and the Pandas contributed “Once Upon a Time” to the
resulting album – “the Gene Pitney Show.”
Panda
television appearances were rare but the band did manage to guest on Where The
Action Is and on Upbeat, a syndicated program taped from Cleveland. “We did
not do a lot of television,” Lawrence says, “because the medium for rock
wasn’t television. The medium was radio.”
The Pandas, like
other contemporary Boston groups (the Barbarians, the Lost, Barry and the
Remains, and the Rockin’ Ramrods) were influenced by the British sound. “I
loved the Stones,” Corelle says. “At that time, we were sort of like Beatle
material… the Remains were Rolling Stone material. I thought they (the
Remains) were incredible. They had a bass player who wouldn’t quit… One of
the best I’ve ever seen.”
“We
did so many gigs with the Barbarians and the Ramrods,” Corelle says. “I
really liked Barry and the Remains, but most of the guys in our group loved the
Beatles.”
When
the Musicor deal failed, the Pandas
recorded “The Lovelight” / “Day in the City” for Bruce Patch’s Timbri
label. With its rhythm and blues feel, tough vocals, and nasty guitar riffs, “The
Lovelight” projected the Pandas at their rawest.
Then,
Teddy Dewart left the Pandas early in 1968 to pursue a doctorate in psychology.
His replacement, Paul Rivers, has studied at the Berkeley School of Music and
played blues, jazz, and rock. The British invasion had lured Rivers into music.
“My influences were the English blues/rock players,” he says…”Eric
Clapton, Jimmy Page, early Jeff Beck.”
About
this time the Boston music scene was undergoing some dramatic changes. The media
began dubbing this New England stronghold “ the San Francisco of the East,”
and coined a new term for its music: the “Bosstown Sound.” As a result,
record company executives began scurrying around throughout the east, looking
for their piece of the “next big thing.”
MGM
Records invested the most dollars, inking contracts with the Beacon Street
Union, Orpheus, the Ultimate Spinach, and Puff (formerly the Ramrods).
Ultimately, it became evident that “Bosstown Sound” was a meaningless
phrase, but at the time it generated recording for countless bands.
In
the midst of this sudden interest, the Pandas began shopping around for a new
label. “We went to a couple of different companies,” recalls Corelle. “
Then, we did a demo at Columbia’s
New York studios. Nothing came of that, but Capitol
Records wanted us to do an album. We had a few songs ready, but not
everything.
“They
signed us and threw in a couple of writers. We actually signed with Capitol
Records, though our album was released on its subsidiary, Tower.”
According
to Corelle the album deal was worked out by Larry Jaspon, who had been
introduced to the group through Bruce Patch. Jaspon, says Corelle “had some
money and was taken into the group. He saw us often and wanted to do an album.
We had never really thought of doing an album until he talked to us.
“He
flew us to New York and put us up in a fancy hotel. Jimmy Hendrix, who was
recording “Axis: Bold As Love,” was in the same hotel. We got to meet
(Hendrix). I also got to meet the Who in the hotel elevator…They were
recording at the same time.”
The
team that put the Teddy and the Pandas album together had recently completed
another album…”The Cambridge Concept of Timothy Clover.” It was another
Bosstown Sound album for Tower. Both
the Clover and the Pandas albums were credited to Tea-Pot Productions, Patch’s
Boston company. Larry Jaspon acted as executive producer; Lenny Petze and Steve
King wrote some songs, Joe Renzetti was the arranger, and Bill Radice was the
engineer on both records.
The
Timothy Clover album, a mild mix of pop and psychedelia stiffed on the charts.
But the production team was evidently satisfied enough with the sound, and
saddled the Pandas’ recording with the same pop/psychedelic blend. “That
really wasn’t our sound,” says Pandas drummer Jerry Labrecque. “Our sound
was rock and roll.
“But
that was an era when music was changing, “Labreqcue says. “We tried a few
Beatle tricks. We were trying to get into that (sound) with tape echo, reversing
the tape, and adding things, which never really worked. It worked for the
Beatles, but not for the Pandas”. Lawrence was also dissatisfied. “We were
one of those groups that was better live than in the studio,” he says. “We
were awful in the studio. Somebody always told us what to do and it was awful…
It didn’t work. I think that if we had produced our own records from the
start, we would have had more success.”
Like Clover, the
Pandas were recorded at Olmsted Studio in New York City. “It was very popular
at the time,” says Corelle. “They did a lot of the Four Seasons’ records.
At the time we were booked in the studio, Iron Butterfly had just come out from
doing the “In a Gadda Da Vida” album. We had to move their equipment out of
the studio in order to record!
“I
remember the first night down there,” he says. “We did 22 straight hours. We
got to the hotel at four or five in the morning. We just got to sleep, when I
got a call saying that my first son was born.”
The
Pandas album, “Basic Magnetism,” contained ten songs. Bobby Weinstein, a Capitol
Records songwriter/arranger, composed the title track and assisted with the
arrangements, and Lenny Petze, a Boston friend of Patch, co-wrote three of the
tunes: “Kona, Idaho,” “68 Days ‘Till September,” and “Crossing Man.”
(More recently, Petze has made a name for himself at Portrait
Records as Cyndi Lauper’s executive producer.)
The
Pandas wrote three songs for their album. Dewart and Corelle composed “Running
from Love,” a rocker that most closely approximates the real Pandas sound. “Raspberry
Salesman,” a Patch-Dewart-Corelle-Lawrence endeavor, had all the earmarks of
forced psychedelia. “At the Debutantes’ Ball” represents one minute plus
of pure filler, but has an interesting tale behind it.
“We
wanted one more thing on that side,” says Corelle, “only we wanted it short.
Teddy came up with this thing. When Teddy was in the band, we used to do a lot
of debutante coming-out parties… Teddy got this idea about a debutante ball
song. It’s a real rag on that type of thing.”
Though
Dewart had left the Pandas prior to the album sessions, he did contribute to
them. The liner notes list him as “guest “artist. “He did a lot of work on
the album,” Corelle says. “Paul did all the leads, but Teddy did a lot of
the guitar backup. He also did some vocals and played some keyboard things.”
But
the Pandas sole album sank without making a wave. Even the single from Basic
Magnetism-“Childhood Friends”/”68 Days ‘Till September” missed the
charts completely. Testimonials from New England deejays like Arnie Ginsburg and
Ron Robin on the album liner notes only served to emphasize the parochialism of
the Pandas’ appeal.
The
Pandas belonged to an earlier, post-Beatles, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues
scene. In fact, the psychedelic pop of Basic Magnetism bore little resemblance
to the band’s true style. It is ironic that the Pandas only album – a
response to the “Bosstown” hype – should miscast them so effectively.
But,
with a first album that was a commercial failure, the Bosstown Sound on the
ropes, and top-forty music losing ground in general to FM’s progressive rock,
time was running out for Teddy and the Pandas. Corelle and guitarist Paul Rivers
started a jazz and blues band in 1969 – Dr. Feelgood. They rounded it out with
two of the original Sensations, saxophonist Dick Winters and drummer Ralph
Cooper. At the time both were members of another North Shore group, the
Warlocks. “They left the Warlocks, and we left the Pandas to start our own
band,” Corelle says. “When Paul and I left, the Pandas didn’t replace us.
They just stopped playing.”
Dr.
Feelgood played gigs around New England for about three years, then disbanded
when a deal with Epic Records fell
through. They did record one jazz-rock album, “Something to Take Up Time,”
with producer Larry Patch on an independent label. Corelle speaks highly of
Winter’s contributions to that album.
“Dickie
picked up the flute in addition to both tenor and soprano sax,” he says. “He
played two saxes at the same time. There weren’t too many (musicians) who
could play double horn. He did a lot of solos and double horn work on the album.
It was incredible.”
Nowadays,
Bill Corelle supervises a department at GTE, and Dick Guerrette operates a SCUBA
diving equipment store. Both of them still live on the North Shore. Teddy Dewart
is a psychologist with a Ph.D. He now lives in Philadelphia…and has a
recording studio at home.
Paul
Rivers works for the Hogan School in Danvers, Mass. and Al Lawrence lives in
Connecticut where he manages a department in a clothing store. They keep in
touch.
In
fact, on October 7th, 1983 – after nearly 15 years apart – all
five Pandas gathered for a special reunion show at the Danversport Yacht Club.
They drew an overflow crowd, and rekindled a lot of memories about the rocking
‘60s.